Theatre 20 Sets 2015-16 Season

Under the stars on the patio at Vagabondo Italian Ristorante + Lounge in downtown Toronto, Theatre 20 announced its 2015/2016 season. The sold-out event, which included food, drinks, and a first glimpse into the season, also included preview performances from the upcoming season presented by Nathan Carroll, Colleen Dauncey, Lauren Toffan, Kevin Dennis, Nora McLellan, and David Keeley, with musical accompaniment provided byScott Christian and Mark Selby.

Theatre 20's new leadership team - consisting of Brian Goldenberg, David Keeley and Nora McLellan - announced their first season at the helm, paying homage to Theatre 20's past successes, while still keeping an eye towards the future. Billed as a season spanning Canada from coast to coast, the 2015/2016 season will see the return of Theatre 20's Composium, the evolution of its Conservatory program, three new musical theatre works in development, a new musical theatre festival, and a hit Canadian musical straight from a sold-out run on Canada's west coast.

ACADEMY

Revamped and restyled, Theatre 20's cornerstone Emerging Artist Ensemble has evolved to form the newCONSERVATORY training program, designed to give artists an intensive insight into the performing arts, focusing on musical theatre. Workshops and masterclasses in the program will include, but not be limited to, Shakespeare Text, Alexander Technique, Scene-to-Song, History of Musical Theatre, and Agent/Business Acumen. Instructors/coaches will include Seana McKenna, Carly Street, Anita Nittoly, Kelly McEvenue, David Keeley, and Nora McLellan. In addition to the regular workshops and classes, artists selected for the program will also be involved with Theatre 20's Composium. The Conservatory will culminate in a showcase presentation on April 18, 2016 at Gallery 345.

Theatre 20's COMPOSIUM returns this season, also with a new look. Influenced by the BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, the new Composium program will offer musical theatre composers and lyricists world-class training. The course will be taught by Leslie Arden, while Jen Shuber will serve as program director. Produced in association with the Canadian Musical Theatre Writers Collective, a showcase presentation will take place May 1-2, 2016 at Gallery 345.

Both the Conservatory and Composium are subsidized courses offered through the generosity of Theatre 20's donors.

DEVELOPMENT

Founded in 2010 as a part of the SummerWorks Festival, Musical Works In Concert was formed as an initiative to provide a forum for Canadian writers and composers to help develop and present original works of musical theatre. The series offers artists a space to have their work presented in a stripped-down concert format in front of an audience. In 2015, MUSICAL WORKS: A FESTIVAL CELEBRATING NEW MUSICAL THEATRE will showcase four new works in development:

Fitz Happens! with book, music and lyrics by Mark Weatherley; Misprint with book by Lauren Toffan, music and lyrics byYan Li; Out of the Lens with book and lyrics by David Kingsmill, music by David Kingsmill and Nicholas Chave; andThe Yellow Ribbon with book and lyrics by Sara Farb, music by Jesse Farb. Co-produced with Musical Works In Concert,Tracy Michailidis will serve as Artistic Director for the festival, facilitating the dramaturgy and workshopping of the new musical works. Showcase presentations will take place August 20- 23, 2015 at Factory Theatre.

Previously featured at The Toronto Fringe's Next Stage Festival, A MISFORTUNE will receive a workshop this summer at the Confederation Centre in Chalottetown, Prince Edward Island. With book by Kevin Michael Shea, music by Scott Christian, and lyrics by Wade Bogert-O'Brien and Kevin Michael Shea, this adaptation of an Anton Chekov story is described as "a romantic, bittersweet musical about small moments and momentous decisions." A woman and a young lawyer walk through the woods. Their friendship has reached an impasse. Co-produced with the Charlottetown Festival, a showcase presentation is scheduled for August 7, 2015 at the Confederation Centre in Charlottetown.

Based on the poems of Wilfred Owen and letters to his mother during the Great War, THE END will see a workshop take place in the fall. Conceived and written by Peter Hinton, with music by Leslie Arden, Linda Catlin Smith, Allen Cole, Veda Hille, Alice Ping Yee Ho, Derek Holman, John Millard, David Sereda, Rodney Sharman and David Warrack. Co-produced with Theatres of War, a showcase presentation will take place on November 11, 2015 at Tarragon Theatre.

Based on the book by Ivan and Anne Kronenfeld, THE SECRET LIFE OF DR. JAMES MIRANDA BARRY is currently in development. With book by Jen Shuber and music and lyrics by Nicky Phillips, the story is about the life of Dr. James Miranda Barry, a 19th century surgeon who lived his adult life as male, but was discerned as female upon her death.

PRODUCTIONS

"It's written on the walls of this hotel, you go to heaven, once you've been to hell" - Leonard Cohen

In February 2016, Theatre 20 presents, with the generous support of Theatre Passe Muraille, a Fire Hall Arts Centre production; CHELSEA HOTEL - THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN. Directed and conceived by Tracey Power and musical direction and arrangements by Steven Charles, the show comes to Toronto fresh from a sold-out national tour. Leonard Cohen's powerful and inspirational music is the heartbeat of the show, as six performers play seventeen different instruments in a rollicking tribute to the remarkable writer. Through Cohen's transcendent songs and the honesty of his lyrics, audiences will be transfixed by this eclectic cabaret of loves won and lost. The show will run February 3-21, 2016 at Theatre Passe Muraille.

EVENTS

Theatre 20 will be hosting its first annual CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNAMENT on September 21, 2015 at Copper Creek; followed by a return of Theatre 20's signature gala, TASTE OF 20 on November 26, 2015 at the prestigious National Club. The annual HOLIDAY CABARET will take place on December 13, 2015 at Alleycatz Restaurant Lounge, and an exclusiveVALENTINES SOIRE?E will take place on February 14, 2016 as a part of the run of Chelsea Hotel.

ABOUT THEATRE 20

Theatre 20 was founded in 2010 by a group of Canada's top musical theatre artists - many of who are Broadway and international theatre stars - with a mission to advance the development of musical theatre in Canada. Over the past five years, Theatre 20 has supported the development of Canadian musical theatre through various workshops of new musicals, 'Pitch Week' outreach initiatives, and an inaugural Composium for aspiring musical theatre writers. Theatre 20 has run the successful Company We Keep cabaret series with regular sold-out performances and has produced two large-scale musicals - the original Canadian musical Bloodless: The Trial of Burke and Hare (nominated for 9 Dora Mavor Moore Awards) and the classic musical Company (winner of 4 Broadway World Awards). Theatre 20's Conservatory program has been the cornerstone of the company, providing mentorship, education and career-driven performance opportunities to young artists and musical theatre writers.

2015/2016 Schedule

THE SECRET LIFE OF DR. JAMES MIRANDA BARRY

Based on the book by Ivan and Anne Kronenfeld

Book by Jen Shuber
Music & Lyrics by Nicky Phillips
In development

A MISFORTUNE

Book by Kevin Michael Shea
Music by Scott Christian
Lyrics by Wade Bogert-O'Brien and Kevin Michael Shea

co-produced with the Charlottetown Festival

Showcase Presentation: August 7, 2015

Confederation Centre, Charlottetown, PEI

MUSICAL WORKS
A FESTIVAL CELEBRATING NEW MUSICAL THEATRE

Fitz Happens! - Book, Music & Lyrics by Mark Weatherley

Misprint - Book by Lauren Toffan, Music & Lyrics by Yan Li

Out of the Lens - Book & Lyrics by David Kingsmill, Music by David Kingsmill & Nicholas Chave

The Yellow Ribbon - Book & Lyrics by Sara Farb, Music by Jesse Farb

co-produced with Musical Works In Concert

August 20-23, 2015
Factory Theatre, Toronto

CELEBRITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

September 21, 2015

Copper Creek

THE END

Based on the poems of Wilfred Owen and letters to his mother during the Great War

Conceived and written by Peter Hinton
Music by Leslie Arden, Linda Catlin Smith, Allen Cole, Veda Hille, Alice Ping Yee Ho,

Derek Holman, John Millard, David Sereda, Rodney Sharman and David Warrack
co-produced with Theatres of War
Showcase Presentation: November 11, 2015
Tarragon Theatre, Toronto

TASTE OF 20

November 26, 2015

The National Club

HOLIDAY CABARET

December 13, 2015

Alleycatz Restaurant Lounge

CHELSEA HOTEL
THE SONGS OF LEONARD COHEN
Directed and Conceived by Tracey Power
Musical Direction and Arrangements by Steven Charles
a Firehall Arts Centre Production
presented with the generous support of Theatre Passe Muraille

February 3-21, 2016

Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto

VALENTINE'S SOIRE?E

February 14, 2016

Theatre Passe Muraille

CONSERVATORY
Showcase Presentation: April 18, 2016

Gallery 345, Toronto

COMPOSIUM

in association with the Canadian Musical Theatre Writers Collective

Showcase Presentation: May 1-2, 2016

Gallery 345, Toronto